Archie in Atmos
by BlueDragon123
Summary: Sam Vincent's two greatest characters coming together when Archie is summoned by Master Cyclonis and meets Aerrow. However they both have more than her to worry about. ;D AxA and AxP
1. Super Shoes

Archie and Jay were running through the park. Archie was trying to run faster than Jay but Jay had borrowed some specially modified sneakers from Hephaestus. He would never catch Atlanta but he could manage to keep pace with Archie.

"Eventually you are going to have to tell her," Jay said putting on another burst of speed as Archie tried to lose him in a crowd.

"Why are you following me?" asked Archie although he knew perfectly well.

"Because Theresa has been nagging me to do this for ages. Apparently you'll only listen to me," said Jay.

"How are things going between you and her?" asked Archie, trying to figure out how Jay was keeping up with him.

"Don't change the subject. I know it might be scary but dude, you've faced down man eating beasts. You shouldn't be worried about telling Atlanta you like her," said Jay.

"You know you should be telling me not to tell her," said Archie and then he realised they were in the reaches of the mall. Maybe he could lose Jay in there.

"Why would I tell you not to tell her?" asked Jay, also seeing the mall. _Perfect _he thought.

"Because it could break up the team. There could be fights and people taking sides and you know that Cronos would love any chaos in the group," said Archie. Then he spotted Herry's truck in the parking lot. _I'm being herded _he realised. _Oh well, that'll mean that the dormitory is empty. I can hide out there but how do I lose Jay?_

Archie ran into the mall looking for some sign of the others. He spotted a man with black hair admiring his reflection. "You brought Neil into this," he said, surprised. Jay realised he had been found out. Luckily for him but not so luckily for Archie, Odie had heard hum through the active PMT.

"Jay, get Archie towards the door," said Odie. "Herry are you ready?" A loud munching sound could be heard and then,

"Ready Odie." Archie saw the food store where Athena went to get the groceries. There was an exit straight into the street. _I can lose him there_ decided Archie. He ran through the glass double doors of the mall. The next thing he knew he was caught in a bear hug by Herry.

"Hey! Put me down!" Archie shouted and tried to wiggle out of his grip. Herry just held on tighter. He started carrying him towards a smiling Odie and Neil, who was still admiring his reflection. Jay caught up and hi-fived Odie.

"Told you it would work," he said. Turning back to Archie, he said, "We've come up with an ultimatum for you."

"About?" inquired Archie as he tried to work out a way to escape. Maybe if he kicked Herry hard enough in the shin then he would drop him, then-

"Atlanta and you. We think this pretending that you only like her as a friend thing may have some drawbacks. Like her only thinking you like her as a friend," said Odie.

"So we found someone to help you. Neil, where is she?" said Jay looking over at Neil who couldn't tear his eyes away from his face in the window.

"She's over here" said Neil who pointed to a girl about their age also looking at her reflection. She had long, straight hair and glasses. She was almost as tall as Herry and as she turned around Archie could see deep blue eyes behind her frames

"This is Phoebe," said Jay. The girl waved at Archie, friendly and Archie couldn't help thinking she wasn't much of a threat. "She's a daughter of Aphrodite and she has an intresting little talent." Archie gulped. This couldn't be good.

"She can amplify love," said Odie, taking over "she can't make it but if the connection is there she can make it stronger."

"Which means you can finally tell Atlanta you love her and get this over with," said Neil.

"What makes you think that this will work?" asked Archie. He had been able to hide his feelings pretty well before. This would be no different.

"You really don't get it do you?" said Phoebe. She had a high pitched voice to match her mothers. "This will literally overload your systems. You won't be able to control your actions anymore.

"And that's a good thing?" said Archie. Jay and Odie exchanged a look and nodded. This was their last resort but it had been a year. If Archie had been going to tell Atlanta that he loved her he would have by now. It was time to give it a push.

"Hold still darling this won't hurt a bit," said Phoebe and she reached for his face. Archie could actually feel the love and good vibrations she was giving off. He needed to act. Quick as a flash, he kicked Herry hard in the shin. Or he was supposed to. Luckily for Archie and unluckily for Herry, his sneaker sailed up north of his upper thigh.

Archie ducked and weaved out of the way of Phoebe and Jay and ran for the grocery store. It was full to the brim with customers and Jay couldn't risk using his speed in case he hurt someone. Archie dashed out the exit and into the parking lot.

He took a look at Herry's truck and thought about slitting the tires with his Hephaestus whip but then he thought about what Herry would do to him. Instead he threw his PMT into the back and ran as fast as he could towards the one place they would never look for him: the sea.

Half way through his run to the sea, he collapsed. He looked down and cursed. When he had kicked Herry his ankle guard had come undone and his ankle had dislocated. He dragged himself into a deserted alley away from prying eyes.

Clamping his jaw shut, he put his ankle bone back into the socket. It hurt like hell but it beat the alternative. As he was tightening his ankle guard he saw Herry's truck zoom past. They were heading for the sea.

"When did I become so predictable?" he wondered. That was his last thought as the ground beneath him gave way and he fell into nothing.


	2. Where?

Disclaimer: If I owned either of these show I would be Canadian. Sadly I'm only a British hybrid.

Replys to Reviewers:

Ali: Archie isn't your fav? Shock, horror. O.o If not him than who? Glad you are enjoying the story

MissJuly005: I try not to disappoint.

Diehard: Most crossovers take a charecter(s) and put them in the other world. Sad that no-one can think of anything else but true. Loving the signature.

Rose: Thx Rose. Try to lay off the sugar and I promise this won't distract me from my other stories.

* * *

Archie woke up on dust coloured ground. Rubbing his head he groaned. It felt like someone had thrown him head first into a wall. He looked around. There was a large tree with a flag flying from the top. At its base, was what looked like a makeshift fort.

Stranger still was the fact that he must be on a cliff because the ground stopped a few metres away. He looked over the edge and saw that there was no ground beneath it. There were just clouds miles and miles down swirling around the base. It was like an island in the sky.

"Beats an island in the sea," he thought aloud. He looked over at the fort and wondered if there was anybody there. The gate to it was closed but the wall was patched together with sheets of metal and wood which made great hand holds.

He easily scaled the wall and dropped to the ground, gritting his teeth because his ankle still hurt from being dislocated. It was a round fort with levers to work the gate at the front and a smaller one at the back. There was a rectangular cage that was filled with feathers and other things that made Archie suspect that it might be a chicken coup.

There was also a pile of apples in the corner and his stomach growled. He hadn't realised how hungry he was and it made him think of Herry. And then thinking about Herry made him think about where he was. He picked up one of the apples and studied it. It seemed like an ordinary apple and he took a bite. It tasted like an ordinary apple as well.

"Where am I?" he said, leaning against the tree and thinking of home.

*

"Where is he?" said Jay. Archie had disappeared of the face of the planet. After checking the places Archie was likely to hide, namely the sea they had checked his favourite hangout spots, then the dorm and finally the school.

"Oh who care? He'll turn up," said Phoebe who had long since changed back into Aphrodite. Being the goddess of Love she had had to change her appearance so that mortals wouldn't notice her but she had complained about the glasses, the remains of which were now in Hephaestus's forge.

"Hey guys," said Atlanta, walking in with Theresa. Theresa looked at Jay and immediately noticed Archie's absence. So did Atlanta but she decided not to say anything. He was probably just practising with his whip or playing a game at the dorm.

"Atlanta, can I see you for a moment?" said Hermes, saving the day. "There are some obnoxious trolls hanging around outside and I can't find Archie."

"I don't see why you didn't come to me first."

"Archie sulks more if I don't ask him first," said Hermes. It was a blatant lie but no-one pointed it out.

"See you guys later," said Atlanta. Hermes winked at them and then disappeared.

"What was all that about?" said Herry. Theresa didn't hear him. With a face like thunder she turned on Jay.

"I can't believe you were going to do that to Archie," yelled Theresa. Jay and Odie cowered backwards. Herry just looked confused.

"I thought you wanted us to get him to tell Atlanta..." he said and when Theresa turned to him he wished that he had kept his mouth shut.

"Yes but I didn't want him to humiliate himself," she screeched but this time she attracted the attention of Aphrodite.

"Hun there's nothing embarrassing about love." Theresa took a deep breath and remained calm. Her teammates were one thing but the last time that Archie had yelled at a god, Hera had given him a donkey's head.

"With all due respect Aphrodite, that's not exactly how it works for Archie and Atlanta. Every time we watch a romantic film they both leave after five minutes," she said before harnessing her anger and letting loose on Jay. "Where's he anyway?"

"We don't know," said Neil who was completely oblivious to anything except for his own reflection.

"Can't you call his PMT?"

"He left it in the back of Herry's truck."

"I don't blame him. You just wanted to watch him humiliate himself in front of Atlanta," said Theresa. She sighed. "He'll show up eventually. We have lessons with Ares in half an hour. He wouldn't dare be late for that."

*

"Where are you going?" asked Piper. Aerrow sat down on his skimmer and tried to avoid looking at her.

"I was heading out to Terra Neverlandis," he said. "Why?"

"No reason. Just be careful. The last time you went off on a solo mission you were on Terra Zartacla. You almost got caught how many time?"

"I didn't really count."

"Just promise you'll be careful."

"Piper, its Terra Neverlandis. No-one knows about it except for us and some wannabe Cyclonians. And they know better." The actual reason Aerrow was heading out was because he needed to think about some weird dreams that he had been having. But he couldn't tell Piper that because all of them were featuring her.

"Fine. Why aren't you taking, Radarr?"

"He wanted to sleep in." And with that Aerrow flew off out of the hanger. Piper went up to the kitchen.

_Maybe he should sleep in once in a while _she thought, thinking about how tired he had been looking lately and if it was weird that she was the only one who thought that.

On his skimmer, Aerrow watched the sunrise with awe. It never lost its majesty no matter how many times he saw it. A new day dawned and new adventures waited. If only he knew how right he was.

He thought about the dreams he had been having as he looked for Terra Neverlandis. He had to keep to the cloud cover because there had been Cyclonian sightings near by. Still even in the dangerous circumstances he could feel himself falling into auto pilot as his subconscious took control of his mind.

He was still thinking about the dreams when he saw the small Terra sitting in the distance like an old friend. He hadn't really missed it all that much but it was nice to see it again. It was a lovely place just to think with no inhabitants to bother him. And then he saw the purple headed teen walking around. He approached stealthily. Whoever he was he shouldn't be there. And there had been known to be plain clothed Cyclonians.


	3. Vision Of A Friend

"Class dismissed," said Ares, a little more gruffly than usual. They all knew he was a bit ruffled by the fact that Archie hadn't shown up. Usually it was only Neil who skipped lessons and it was even less likely that Archie would skip one that he was good at.

"Anyone seen Archie?" asked Atlanta, letting a little bit of her worry show. The others looked at her with equal shares of guilt except for Neil who was admiring himself in his armour. Today had been about learning how to fight in full body, Greek armour.

"I'm not sure," said Theresa, taking of her helmet, carefully. "He usually doesn't skip lessons."

"Yeah, especially not Ares'," added Herry. Jay, Odie and Herry all exchanged a glance. There was no way that Archie would have skipped a lesson unless something bad had happened to him.

"Can you use your telepathy, Theresa?" asked Atlanta. The others stared at her and she quickly added "So we can find him before he inevitably does something stupid."

"Yeah, let's head back to the dorm," said Jay. "You can probably use something from his room." As they ran back to the dorm from the school, Theresa noticed that Atlanta wasn't really paying attention anymore.

_Maybe we didn't need that stupid stunt after all _she thought. However Atlanta was just looking for signs of Archie. A purple hair, a tear from his tracksuit, footprints, something that might give away that he had been here.

"Did you guys see him before he disappeared?" asked Atlanta and the others shook their heads. For the first time in a long time she wondered if they were lying to her.

Finally they reached the dorm. Mounting the steps two at a time they headed past the kitchen and the living room toward the rooms. Archie's door was two from the end and everyone skidded to a halt. Theresa spread her palms and felt for her friend's aura.

Then the visions came. Running from the others, pain, frustration, annoyance and then she saw him falling through a wall. And then she felt nothing. She staggered backwards but the vision kept on coming. Now she could see a fuzzy picture like she was just waking up. It was of someone with blazing red hair like Atlanta's and green eyes like fresh leaves in spring. It was definitely a he and he felt like nice person. She collapsed to the floor as she saw another face. This one was a girl with dark hair and violet eyes. Her aura was so evil it was like being stuck in a black sea. _She took Archie. _She knew that for sure. Then the vision ended and she saw that she had fallen. Jay and the others were looking over her.

"That must have been one heck of a vision," said Athena from behind them. "Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

"I think I will," said Theresa.

*

Archie never heard him coming. One minute he was walking across the small stretch of dirt, the next he had a large mouthful of it. Someone was holding him in a headlock. He thought back to his training and now that his hands were pinned underneath him he could only think of one thing to do. He clamped his teeth down on the stranger's hand.

"Ow!" yelled the new arrival. His scream did in fact prove that this unexpected guest was a guy. Archie jumped to his feet and assessed the threat. The kid was a teen, about his age, skinny with red hair and green eyes. He was wearing patched clothing with bits of tough material here and there.

_I've faced worse _he thought all too aware of the fact that looks were deceiving. There was two options open to him: try to talk or fight. He picked the first.

"Sorry about that," he said. The other boy looked at him.

"Sorry about the headlock. If you were a Cyclonian you wouldn't be that good at fighting," he replied and Archie thanked the gods he spoke English. "What's your name?"

"Archie. Yours?"

"Aerrow. What Terra are you from?"

"Aerrow? Like a bow and arrow?"

"No there's an 'e' at the beginning."

"Okay. What do you mean what Terra am I from?"

"Where do you live?"

"In New Olympia."

"Where?" Both of them looked as confused as the other. Then Aerrow seemed to have an idea. "Maybe Piper knows what you're on about."

"Who's Piper?"

"Our navigator." There was a certain way he said her name that reminded Archie of how he said Atlanta's name. _Poor guy _he thought. He knew how much love majorly sucked. "C'mon, I'd better take you back to the Condor."

"How?"

"On this." Aerrow pointed to a motorcycle near the tree-fort. It was silver with blue and red and pretty normal looking except for one thing-

"Are those wings?"

"Yeah. How else would we fly?" _Oh hooray _thought Archie _I fell into Wonderland. Better follow the white rabbit home._ Aerrow got into the driver's seat and Archie got on behind him. There were sidecars but they seemed a bit small for him.

"Hold on!" said Aerrow before driving off the cliff. Before Archie could draw the breath to scream, Aerrow activated the wings and they glided over the clouds.

"This is so cool," said Archie, trying not to think what would happen if he fell off.

"You don't have these at home."

"No. We have more ground instead."

"If you want to get off the grounds a couple of hundred metres below you," laughed Aerrow and without warning he corkscrewed so that they were riding upside down. Archie clung onto his seat and stifled a scream. Aerrow was impressed. "You're a better flyer than you seem."

"Can you just get us to the Condor, please? As cool as it would be to be an Archie pancake in a new world, I'd like to live a little longer." Aerrow turned them the right side up and wondered what Archie meant by a new world. Archie was just trying not to think about what was underneath those clouds.


	4. A Green Radarr

_Hey guys. Look I am so sorry about disappearing from the fanfic world but there really hasn't been any good stories lately and I have run into a major case of writer's block. This is the kind of thing that makes Dan Brown run for the hills._

Oh and I need some help for Ask A Character. Do any of you have any favorites because I really can't decide. 

_R&R. Tell me it's rubbish. And please let me know about the whole AAC thing._

* * *

"Archie is imprisoned in another world," started Theresa but was cut off by the angry murmur of Cronos. "No not this time. I sense another mind more cunning than Cronos and more willing to do anything for what she wants. She is called Master Cyclonis."

"Master Cyclonis?" said Herry. He and Odie looked at each other and laughed. "Who would call themselves Master?" Theresa looked at Jay. She was white as a ghost. Atlanta wasn't listening anymore. She had stopped after 'another world'. _He's trapped. What are we going to do? We need him for the prophecy._

"So how do we release him?" asked Athena.

"We don't," Theresa rubbed her head and focused hard on the remnants of her vision. "There are heroes there too. They can help him. We need to trust them."

"Right. While Archie is gone, you should all head back to the school. Cronos is bound to think of someway of exploiting his absence," said Athena. Jay nodded.

"Odie can you call Hermes and ask him to call up a portal?" said Jay. Odie nodded and still giggling he started talking into his PMR. Atlanta sat crouched by the door to his room, half listening still. Theresa moved over to her friend and sat down next to her.

"He'll be fine. He can look after himself," said Atlanta when Theresa opened her mouth.

"Then why are you worried?"

"I'm not. Of all of us who get to see a new world it had to be Archie," said Atlanta, smiling but not managing to shrug off the frown in her eyes. Theresa nodded and she was about to go and help the others when Atlanta asked, "Can you see him coming back?"

"No, but then I can't see him dead either," Theresa said without thinking. _But if he doesn't die and he doesn't come back that means that he stays _thought Atlanta. _Why would he stay?_

*

"The warrior should be here by now," said Master Cyclonis, calmly. Somehow that made it scarier. In front of her were her 'crack' squad of Commanders. Only two of them weren't snivelling. One was Commander Ravess. She was a suck up and a terrible one at that. She couldn't even capture a clock tower. The other was the Dark Ace, her most trusted servant. He was a great warrior but Aerrow had beaten him so many times that Master Cyclonis had felt the need to hire some fresh meat.

"How are we supposed to know if this great warrior will join us?" asked Ravess.

"Because I can give him what any great warrior wants. Now search the skies. Leave no rock unturned, no pitiful person unquestioned. I want him brought to me so that we may finally get rid of the Storm Hawks once and for all."

*

"Why are you called the Storm Hawks?" asked Archie as they soared across the skies.

"I don't know. My dad named it," replied Aerrow, expecting him to ask why didn't he ask him.

"So he's dead," said Archie. Aerrow suddenly became wary. The fact his father was common knowledge to anyone from Atmos.

"He's still alive," tested Aerrow. Archie seemed taken aback.

"Sorry, you just kind of tensed when I asked. I figured you might have known him but not for long," said Archie, trying not to get the guy keeping him from dropping to his death angry.

"I never knew him. Sorry I lied. He is dead. I just need to make sure you aren't a Talon," said Aerrow. Archie was confused.

"A Talon?" he asked. Aerrow chuckled. _Definitely not a Talon._

"Yeah, they work for Cyclonis. She wants to take over the Atmos and inslave everyone," said Aerrow.

"She sounds like a hag," commented Archie and Aerrow laughed harder.

"Yeah I guess she is," said Aerrow. Suddenly the Condor came into view. "Home sweet home. What do you think?" he asked. One last test. Any Talon would hate it in comparison to their squeaky clean battle cruisers.

"Awesome! How do you get it to float like that?" asked Archie in wonder. _Ten out of ten _thought Aerrow _either this is a very convincing Talon or a new friend who needs our help._

"Crystal power," he answered. "I'll have to introduce you to our navigator, Piper. In fact you should meet the team," he replied. They landed in the hangar and Archie saw more motorcycles like Aerrow's. A dark skinned girl with blue hair and amber eyes was waiting for them.

"Aerrow! That was quick," she said before she noticed Archie. She was wearing the same kind of clothes as Aerrow except hers was patterned with dark blue and orange. "Who's this?"

"This is Archie."

"Hi."

"Nice to meet you. Where are you from?" Archie considered this for a minute.

"Trust me. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." He smiled. She reminded him of Atlanta.

"Another world. Is this your team?" he turned back to Aerrow. Suddenly Junko and Finn burst in after a livid Radarr. Radarr was covered in green paint and Finn was laughing. It didn't take a genius to guess what was going on.

"Finn, Junko, Radarr meet Archie," said Aerrow, dodging out of the way as a paint splatter Radarr tried to jump onto his shoulder.

"What it that? A squirrel?" said Archie as Radarr took a couple of steps towards him. Piper watched with interest. When Master Cyclonis had pretended to be Lark, Radarr had hated her from the start. However, Radarr smiled and leaped onto Archie's shoulder, ignoring the fact he had been called a squirrel. Archie smiled and scratched the little guy's head ignoring the paint on his tracksuit. Okay maybe Radarr hadn't ignored it. Still Radarr seemed to like him.

"This is Radarr. He's my co-pilot. We don't really know what he is," said Aerrow. "This is Junko, our strongman and engineer." Junko shook Archie's hand, nearly crushing it.

_Almost as strong as Herry _thought Archie. Junko looked like some kind of mutated rhino but he realised this wasn't a guy you wanted to upset so he said nothing about his appearance.

"Next is our wingman, Finn," said Piper. Finn crossed his arms and tried to look cool. Archie immediately pegged him as the Neil of the group from the perfectly gelled hair to the mouth that had perfected pouting.

"Sharpshooter extraordinaire," he bragged. Archie grinned.

"I bet I can shoot better than you," he said, already sensing an easy win. Finn snorted.

"Doubtful."

"Let's see then." Archie and Finn ran off to find a bulls-eye and some arrows.

"I think he'll fit in fine," said Piper, watching as the two ran off dripping paint behind them.

"Yeah but the question is where'd he come from?" said Junko.

"And how's he going to get home?" added Aerrow. Piper looked thoughtful. "What is it, Piper?"

"I think I might have an idea." Aerrow feigned shock.

"Why am I not surprised?"


	5. Fighting and Fleeing

"No, Piper."

"Aerrow, can you think off a better way?"

"No, but-"

Archie, Finn, Radarr and Junko listened to the two from the door. They had finished the shooting match and Archie had won. Even when they had strapped a bulls eye to a moving skimmer Archie had managed to hit it slightly closer to the centre than Finn.

"What's going on?" he asked Finn.

"Aerrow has become really overprotective of Piper since she made friends with our arch enemy."

"What an idiot," said Archie rolling his eyes.

"Yeah right. But I think they are really starting to-" Finn searched his limited brain space for a good word for it "like like each other." Archie shrugged.

"And?"

"Dude, he's my friend. He is awesome. Piper's a girl. And she's not a lot of fun." Archie raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I don't really see the problem."

"It's embarrassing that I have to explain. If he like likes her then he'll start doing whatever she says and then she'll get rid of my tunes." Archie was about to be sarcastic (there's no way of sugar coating it) when Piper called them in.

"Guys, we need a third opinion." She turned to Archie. "Who won the shooting match?"

"It was a draw," said Archie before walking in to the cock-pit. Probably best to avoid an argument. Finn gave him the thumbs up when he walked in. Then it was all business.

"Piper wants to send you home. And she can only think of one way to do that," began Aerrow but Piper finished for him.

"We need to go to Cyclonis." Aerrow turned on her.

"Or we could go to Gunstaff."

"Cyclonia is safer."

"Yes I've often thought that a molten terra crawling with Talons was safer than"

"one crazed giant with a mace." Archie watched with a faint sense of embarrassment. Is this what it was like for the others when he and Atlanta fought? He decided to end it there and then.

"Hey guys," he said. Aerrow and Piper turned on him,

"WHAT?" they said in unison, forcing Archie to take a step back. They both got over their anger pretty quickly once they had realised that they weren't yelling at Finn.

"Sorry Archie," said Aerrow.

"Sorry Archie," said Piper.

"Aerrow and Archie have the same voice," said Finn. Archie rolled his eyes and then began again.

"What if I choose where we go?"Aerrow and Piper both looked at each other with worried looks.

"With all respect, Arch-" began Aerrow.

"You have no idea which is better," finished Piper.

"You said that you wanted a third opinion," said Archie. "There's only me, Finn and Junko to choose from."

"They both know the situation better," said Piper, bristling. She hated people underestimating them, even friends. Junko and Finn included.

Archie, knowing from experience when he had touched a nerve, tried to back track. "But it doesn't really concern them in the long run."

"By that logic we should dump you in the Wastelands because it doesn't affect us anyway."

Ignoring the fact that he didn't know what the Wastelands were, Archie remembered something Finn had been bragging about earlier. "Didn't you guys already get something from Cyclonis."

Aerrow braced himself. He had already made this point and Piper was sure to be impatient for having to explain herself again.

"We did but this time we have no idea what we are looking for, where it is, what it does or how to control it. Since you aren't in Cyclonia right now it is obviously in prototype stage."

"So this Gunstaff guy. He can help us." Aerrow was about to say something but Piper bear him too it.

"He wouldn't know he was helping us but yes. We could use his "help".' Archie nodded.

"Okay, let's go with Piper's plan." Junko and Finn nodded in agreement with serious faces. Aerrow shook his head.

"Okay, Finn go and tell Stork we're heading over to Gunstaff. Junko, you go too." Both nodded and ran off to tell the merb. "Piper, we're going to need some Chroma crystals so he won't recognise us." Piper shrugged but went along with it, leaving to find the crystals.

Archie had to admit that Aerrow was a good leader. He reminded him of Jay, putting his teams ideas before his own if necessary.

*

Back on Planet Earth

Hera had set up some beds for the teams. Jay was to work on some plans with her, Theresa was to look for Archie, Odie was to help Hermes scour the net and Herry, Neil and Atlanta-

"Well, you could make us some snacks," said Odie before ducking at the sight of Atlanta's glare.

"You guys wait for us to call you, okay," said Jay. The three nodded and walked off.

"I'm going to go find some pizza," said Herry once they had left, "You guys want to come."

"Ugh, no," said Neil, stalking off to find Aphrodite and her hall of mirrors. I mean he hadn't looked at himself in an hour.

"Sorry Herry," said Atalanta. "I'm going to do some jogging in the gym." Herry nodded and walked off. Atlanta walked off to the gym and ran.

Ran to forget Archie.

Ran to escape her feelings of foreboding and hurt

Ran so she wouldn't have to think about anything but running.


	6. Master Cyclonis laughing?

"So how big is this Gunstaff guy?" asked Archie as they landed in front of a house the size of a mountain.

"Big enough to eat your house," replied Finn.

Archie smirked. "My house is huge."

"Doesn't matter, dude." Piper walked in to the hanger followed by Aerrow who was obviously daydreaming.

"Here," said Piper, "Catch Finn." She passed him a strange looking rock. As soon as Finn caught it there was a bright flash of light and his hair and eye colour changed from blonde with blue eyes to purple hair with green eyes. Archie said nothing. "Impressed," said Piper smugly.

Archie shrugged. "There's no way that that is going to fool him," he said. Piper sighed and clutched her own crystal which changed her hair from blue to bubblegum pink. She passed one to Aerrow, who was still daydreaming and let it fall to the floor.

"Aerrow! What's the matter with you?!" she hissed. Aerrow blushed and picked up his crystal which changed his hair to a light blue. Radarr hopped on his shoulder, bottle green. Junko walked in with red hair and paler skin.

"Okay, is everyone here?" asked Piper, throwing a curious glance around.

"Yep," said Finn.

"What about Stork?" asked Archie.

"He's not a big fan of missions," said Aerrow. Archie wasn't really that surprised and decided to leave it alone. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," said Archie. Everyone stared at him. "What?"

"Where's your weapon?"

"Oh, right." Archie pulled out a handle from his pocket. Finn smirked.

"What the heck is that?" Archie rolled his eyes and pressed a button. A iron cable shot out. Finn laughed out loud. "That's not a weapon." Archie raised an eyebrow and flicked the whip. It cut straight through the wing of Finn's skimmer. Finn's jaw hit the floor.

"Let's go," said Aerrow, opening the door of the hanger. He and Piper shared a look and both tried not to laugh.

* * *

Jay walked into the main hall to find the door to the gym open. Theresa was peaking around the door. He sneaked up on her.

"Don't you know it's wrong to spy on people?" he said, making Theresa jump and accidentally stand on his foot.

"Serves you right," said Theresa giggling at the sight of Jay jumping around on one foot.

"Who are you spying on?" asked Jay when he could put his foot on the ground again. Theresa bit her lip and pointed. Atlanta was running around the course so fast that it looked like she was about to go warp speed. "So?" he asked. Atlanta always ran in times of stress.

Theresa sighed and then called to Atlanta, "Hey Atlanta do you want to go get something to eat before Herry eats it all?" Atlanta didn't even break her pace.

"Maybe she's listening to her MP3?" Jay said weakly. "Oh" was all he could say when Theresa pointed out the earphones hanging from Atlanta's backpack.

"She's probably upset about Archie," said Theresa. Jay scratched his head.

"We should go talk to her," said Jay. Theresa rolled her eyes. "What?"

"How do you plan to make her stop?"

"You could trip her," said Neil. Jay and Theresa turned. Herry and Neil were standing behind them.

"That's stupid," said Herry, with a mouth full of something "She could fall and rip her face off."

"Anyone have any better ideas?" asked Neil. All three looked at each other.

"Let's think of something else," said Jay.

* * *

"There has been no word of any new person in the surrounding terras" reported Ravess.

"Then look harder," said Cyclonis, not turning away from her newest machine. Beside her an orange crystal glowed like an open flame.

"We've searched everywhere, all the surrounding terras-" began Ravess but Master Cyclonis held up a hand and she stopped.

"If you can't find her in the surrounding terras then I suggest that you look further," said Cyclonis. Ravess nodded and left. The Dark Ace stepped out from the shadows.

"You don't think that they will find him," stated The Dark Ace.

"You have all given me numerous failures to base my thoughts on," said Cyclonis. "That is why I feel the necessity of a new Talon."

"There must be something that I can do," said the Dark Ace, feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Yes," said Cyclonis, reaching out and grabbing the orange crystal and attaching it to her staff. "Catch."

* * *

"One of us has to go in there," said Jay.

"So how should we choose who has to go in?" asked Herry.

"Draw straws," said Neil.

"No straws," pointed out Theresa.

"Hey guys," said Odie walking towards them. "Why are you talking about straws?"

"One of us has to go in there and talk to Atlanta," said Theresa. Odie looked through the crack in the door.

"Well that might be a problem," said Odie. "She's gone."

* * *

There was a crash behind the Dark Ace.

"I said to catch her," Master Cyclonis yelled. "The last thing we need is for her to be hurt." Dark Ace turned around and saw a red haired girl lying on the floor. Suddenly she sprang up off the floor. Then with the speed of light she ran for the door without even looking around.

Before the Dark Ace could even reach for his sword, Master Cyclonis blasted the speedy girl off her feet and into a wall.

"If you had caught her I wouldn't have had to do that," she stated. The Dark Ace was speechless.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"Pick her up," was the reply. The Dark Ace nodded and picked the girl of the floor. He checked her hair for blood. There was none.

"She's fine," he said shortly. Then he spotted on her hand. He pointed out to Master Cyclonis. She took it off and put it on her own hand, then flexed her hand. A purple bolt shot into the wall causing a crack to appear.

"How interesting," she said shortly. "Take her away and keep her somewhere safe."

"Anything else, Master?" asked the Dark Ace.

"Yes. Put her picture in every town you can think of. We have the bait, now we just need the catch," said Cyclonis with something that could have been a snigger.


	7. Busted!

"So what's the plan?" hissed Aerrow, as they crawled in a crack in the door. The crack was the size of a cave and about as long as one as well.

"Gunstaff has this book where he documents his daily experiments," began Piper.

"You mean a diary?" sniggered Finn and Junko choked trying not to laugh.

"Shut up, Finn," said Aerrow. Finn, Junko, Radarr and Archie all rolled their eyes, aware that neither of the pair could see them in the dark.

"All we need to do is find this book," said Piper.

"But this book is going to be the size of a car," guessed Archie.

"What's a car?" asked Junko.

"Never mind. But it is going to be huge isn't it?"

Piper nodded. "That's why you, Finn, Aerrow and Radarr distract Gunstaff, Junko and I will be flipping through the book."

"Sounds like a plan," said Aerrow already enthusiastic at the idea of getting to show off for their new friend. Archie was thinking along the same lines. As they walked along the crack towards the light, Piper whispered to Aerrow,

"Try not to get squished and keep an eye on Archie."

"But Archie's our friend," replied Aerrow.

"Just promise Aerrow."

"Sure."

Once they were outside Archie was speechless. To say that everything in the house was gigantic still doesn't quite describe how big everything was in Gunstaff's house. Archie stared around with his mouth open. Finn and Aerrow shared a smug look, ignoring the fact that was probably what they looked like the first time they had arrived at Gunstaff's. The two groups split off in two. Archie kept his hand firmly on his whip handle and couldn't help but notice that the others were holding on to their weapons as well.

They walked past a table the size of a sky scraper with a chair much the same size with a pile of glowing crystals on the top. There was no sign of anyone else, giant or otherwise. Archie was slightly more relaxed about this part of the mission. If his furniture was anything to go by, there was no way that he would be able to sneak up on him. It was the simple matter of finding a twenty foot giant and keeping him from stepping on anyone while simultaneously making sure that he stayed away from the room with Junko and Piper.

Radarr heard the voices first. He tapped his hand on Aerrow's shoulder and Aerrow looked. He stuck out his hand to the rest of the guys in the universal tone for "Stop." The little group was underneath a table with a gigantic banana skin and a rainbow of crystals on top. As it happened they were also at a spot where they could see Gunstaff talking to a woman in a green and red uniform perfectly. "Who's that?" whispered Archie, pointing at the woman with magenta hair "And why is she dressed like a Christmas decoration?"

Since Aerrow was listening intently to the other conversation, Finn had to explain about Ravess. "She's called Ravess and she's a Cyclonian commander," he said under his breath, "And she's pretty dangerous. She's almost as good a shot as I am." Archie resisted the urge to snort with laughter. This place was so bizarre from the people to the names to the bad guys. At least Cronos didn't dress like Christmas fairy. On the other side of the room, Gunstaff was clearly becoming impatient.

"No I have not seen any new small people," he bellowed. "I have only seen you today. Do you really think that I get many visitors?"

Ravess sighed. "No but I was ordered to search everywhere. Are you sure you didn't see a boy-"

"No," shouted the giant, "You are trying my patience little girl. I am very busy. Why does Cyclonis not trust me? Have I not given her exactly what she needed to bring this boy to the Atmos?"

"Yes," cringed Ravess "But Master Cyclonis has lost him and we need him back for indoctrination." Archie blanched. Were they talking about him? "But if not she does have a back up." _A back up _though Archie. _But that would mean she brought through someone else?_

Aerrow was watching the conversation out of the corner of his eye. Nothing would give him more pleasure than to watch Ravess squirm but he had to make sure that Piper got out okay. She and Junko had been in the vault for nearly five minutes. _How long does it take? _he thought.

Inside the crystal vault, Piper was hungrily staring at the page. It was so clever but so incomplete. Piper was tempted to tear out the page and run but that was too risky. There were no crashes and tumbles coming from the next room so she assumed that Aerrow was okay. _Focus, _she scolded herself _Everyone is counting on you. _Junko was nursing a paper cut that ran across his whole hand as she finished memorising the last equation.

"I'm really sorry about that, Junko," she apologised. Junko just nodded and smiled.

"Do we have what we need?" he asked. Piper also nodded and the two ran for the door. They saw the others at the desk and ran over to them.

"What's going on?" hissed Piper in Aerrow's ear. He nodded towards Ravess and Gunstaff. Piper had the feeling that Aerrow had seen them coming. _He's great like that _she smiled. Then she heard what Gunstaff and Ravess were talking about and the smiling stopped.

"Are you sure she shall not escape like the other?" asked Gunstaff obviously taking a miner interest in Ravess's problems. She nodded.

"She's locked up in the dungeons. I heard about it from the Dark Ace as I was leaving. What an odd little girl she is," Piper turned around to Archie who seemed to be whispering something under his breath. Finn, Junko, Radarr and Aerrow were far too preoccupied with Gunstaff to notice. _Typical boys _she thought.

She moved closer to Archie and heard him whisper "Not Atlanta. Not Atlanta."

"She's the funniest thing," continued Ravess. "She has red hair like Aerrow. Round about the same shade wouldn't you agree, Storm Hawks?"


	8. Arrows of all Shapes and Sizes

Before anyone could do anything Archie jumped into the line of fire. "Where's Atlanta, you freak?" he yelled, running toward a very smug Ravess. Aerrow ran after him, closely followed by the others. Aerrow was the closest and thought he might have been able to catch up to Archie if it had not been for his unusual speed. Then a bigger problem arose. A much bigger problem. Gunstaff put his foot down so that Aerrow ran smack into it. Aerrow recoiled and Gunstaff laughed.

"Let us let Ravess and the purple one have their own discussion," he mocked, picking up his crystal staff. Aerrow looked to Piper for ideas. He didn't even need to ask her.

"We need to get Archie back on the ship," she yelled at him as the end of Gunstaff's staff came hurtling towards them. "You go get him. We'll distract him." Aerrow nodded and ran towards Archie and Ravess.

The big man laughed, "Where do you think you are going?" taking a swipe at Aerrow's head. Quick as lightning, Finn pulled out his crossbow and shot a bolt right between Gunstaff's eyes. This time it was Gunstaff's turn to take a few steps back. Then he glared at Finn who gave an unmanly squeak of terror.

"Now you've done it," said Piper, turning around as if to glare at Finn but secretly giving him the thumbs up. Aerrow was running swiftly over to Archie.

"Where is she?" said Archie, flipping out his whip. Ravess smiled brightly. She drew one of her arrows and shot it straight at Archie with amazing speed and accuracy. The arrow was about five inches from Archie's nose when it opened up into a black net. It was about four inches later that Archie pulled back on his whip and cut the net into two. The net dropped at his feet and shook with red electricity. Archie flicked it away with his whip. Ravess's smile dimmed considerably. "Nice toy," said Archie without any humour, "Now, where is Atlanta?"

"Atlanta is that her name?" asked Ravess reaching for more arrows. "How unusual."

"This coming from a girl named Ravess," said Archie, who was enjoying the banter. It made him feel at home, being in the middle of a fight and joking with the evil person. Ravess was not as amused. She hated people making fun of her in any way.

"Take this," she hissed. She notched three arrows all at once and shot them all towards Archie. Archie didn't let them get as far this time. He ran around them instead. Out of the corner of his eye he saw all three whip past him. Then one turned from its path and headed for him again. Not even really looking he flipped his whip back, cutting the arrow in two and earning a gasp from Ravess. Then he flicked the whip forward again, through the leg of a nearby chair. It went right through and while the chair still stood the severed part of the leg fell right behind Ravess, blocking off her exit and trapping her. He ran towards her and stopped a few feet from her. Ravess was dangerous and she was the one with a giant on his side and wicked arrows of all shapes and sizes. He should probably keep his distance.

"I'm not going to ask again: where is Atlanta?" he snarled. Ravess curled her lips back into an annoyingly smug smile.

"Well I'm not going to tell you," she said, reaching back to her quiver. "What are you going to do now?"

"Archie!" Archie was momentarily distracted by Aerrow running up behind him. That was the only distraction Ravess needed. She let loose another one of her netting and then another. Silently she prayed that it hit something because those were her last two. She hadn't been expecting the company and cursed herself for being ill prepared but it could not be helped. Archie easily dodged both arrows but Aerrow who was running up behind him didn't see them coming till it was too late.

Both net arrows opened up, binding him and tossing him to the ground like the catch of the day. As if that wasn't bad enough, bolts of electricity shook his skinny form. One net was enough to knock you unconscious. Two was enough to... well Ravess had never used two on one person before but whatever happened she hoped that it hurt.

"Aerrow!" yelled Archie and ran towards him. Ravess knocked another arrow onto her bow and let it go with ease. It hit Archie in the back of the legs causing him to cartwheel over Aerrow and land in a heap on the floor. Ravess ran over to Aerrow and heard shallow breathing. He was still alive but just barely. "Get away from him," yelled Archie, whip out and ready to fight. Ravess looked at him and then at Aerrow's team who was still battling with the giant. It wasn't the prey she had intended to bring back but it was better than nothing.

"If you want them back," she said to Archie with a calm smile, like a teacher talking to a little one, "Then you're going to have to come and get them." Then she touched a crystal on her wrist. Her skimmer sprang to life from the entrance and automatically guided itself to her. Archie gave a great war cry and ran towards her but she simply let fly with five more arrows all at once. Archie didn't have time to be impressed as he dodged out of the way. They all followed him this time and he swore.

In the meantime, Ravess skimmer had reached her. She unceremoniously threw Aerrow's netted form over the back and flew off over the broken table leg and out of the exit. Archie was too busy trying to get rid of the arrows to notice her leaving but by the time he was done she was long since gone.

Archie was stunned for a second. He had lost two friends in the space of a day. He yelled in frustration and felt like stamping his feet and yelling some more but then he saw that the others were still fending off the greying giant.

_They haven't seen Aerrow being taken away _he thought and then he got a numbing sensation in his arms as he realised that he was going to have to be the one to tell them. "This is going to suck," he said aloud. He gripped his whip and ran towards them. From the looks of things, it wasn't going too badly for the other Storm Hawks. Radarr was enjoying himself in particular by crawling all over Gunstaff's clothes and chirping whenever Gunstaff tried to swipe him off but failed. Finn was shooting bolt after bolt at Gunstaff's face and Piper and Junko were running all over the place pulling faces at him.

For a second, Archie just stood and watched them work as a team. It looked like a lot of fun, and he grinned. Even though being a hero could be scary and dangerous sometimes it definitely had its moments. Thinking over what he had to do for a second, he realised he needed to find the second in command. _Who would Aerrow pick as second in command? _The answer was obvious but Archie groaned all the same. Of all of the team, Piper would be the hardest one to have to tell this too. Archie ran over to Piper and pulled her away.

"Ravess got Aerrow," he said.

"What!" Piper looked mad, hurt and sad. Archie resisted the urge to put his hand on her shoulder or to even touch her. This wasn't the time and anyway she looked so mad that she might just bite off one of his digits and he needed his fingers for archery.

"Piper, please," he begged, "You're the leader now, right? You have to get everyone to get back on the Condor." For a second Piper looked like she might be sick or hit him or both but then she pulled herself together.

"Junko, Finn, Radarr, we need to go," she yelled. They all looked at her as if to say 'What about Aerrow?' "Go," she yelled again. Radarr jumped off Gunstaff and onto Finn's shoulder. Both Finn and Junko then made a beeline for the exit. A giant was scary but a mad Piper was petrifying. Piper gave Archie a death glare before she ran into the hole. There was no doubt in Archie's mind that it was his fault Aerrow was gone.


End file.
